While traveling and meeting with professionals, educators, parents, students, members of the military, and people of all walks of life, you get to have some fantastic conversations surrounding books. Plus all that time on airplanes makes for some wonderful reading opportunities.

I love hearing what books have inspired and/or helped others. Sooo please share what your favorite books are in the “Comments” section below.

Below are the books that I have been inspired by, entertained by, and learned from (the books in BOLD are among my favorites):

AUTHOR & TITLE:
10-10-10 by Suzy Welch
4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
A New Earth by Eckart TolleA Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor FranklAcres of Diamonds by Russell ConwellAs a Man Thinketh by James AllenAspire by Kevin Hall
August: A True Story about Love, Sex, and Entrepreneurship by Mike Hrostoski
Brains on Fire by Robin Phillips, Greg Cordell, Geno Church, & Spike Jones
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Five Wishes by Gay HendricksGreatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod
In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark BattersonLove is the Killer App by Tim SandersLife’s Operating Manual by Tom Shayac Manuscript Found in Accra by Paul Cuelho On Writing by Stephen King The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Start with Why by Simon Sinek
Strength Finders 2.0 by Tom Rath (BUY NEW for code)
The 80% Approach by Dan Sullivan
The Dan Sullivan Question by Dan Sullivan
The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel RuizThe Gifts of Imperfection by Brene BrownThe Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
The Millionaire Messenger by Brendan Burchard
The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle
The Team Success Handbook by Dan Sullivan
The Wealthy Speaker by Jane Atkinson
The Untethered SoulThink & Grow Rich by Napolean Hill
Thought Leaders by Matt Church
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Unique Ability by Catherine Nomura, Julia Waller, & Shannon Waller
YES! by Robert B. Cialdini

FITNESS AND HEALTH
Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge
Dr. Gundry’s Diet Evolution by Dr. Gundry
Wheat Belly by William Davis
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

BOOKS THAT HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED TO ME AND I LOOK FORWARD TO READING:
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson
Abundance by Peter H Diamands and Steven Kotler
Always Something by Gilda Radner
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim W. Chan and Renee Mauborgne
Branding Against the Machine by John Morgan
Chaos by James Gleick
Dynamic Thought by Henry Thomas Hamblin
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Evangelist Marketing by Alex Goldfayn
Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
FREE by Chris Anderson
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Greatness by Don Yaeger
How Good Do We Have To Be by Harold Kushner
How to Sell Through Networking and Referrals by Andy Lopata
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
It’s Always Something by Gilda Radner
Laws of Lifetime Growth by Dan Sullivan and Catherine Nomura
Leadership & Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box – Arbinger Institute
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria
Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish
Oglivy on Advertising by David Oglivy
Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
Poke the Box by Seth Godin
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
Screw It, Lets Do It by Sir Richard Branson
So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
Spin Selling by Neil Rackham
The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander
The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
The Dream Manager by Kelly Matthew
The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams
The Go-Getter by Peter B Kyne
The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
The Power of Positive Thinking by Vincent Peale
The Power of WHO by Bob Beaudine
The Purple Cow by Seth Godin
The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles The
The Shack by William P Young
The Street Lawyer by John Grisham
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
The Way to Wealth by Benjamin Franklin
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins
Walt Disney: An American Original by Bob Thomas
Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
What’s Stopping You? by Bruce Barringer;
YOUR BEST YEAR YET by Jinny S. Ditzler

PLEASE SHARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW!

In years past (particularly when I was younger), I made statements similar to , “Who cares what others think about me!”

Typically such a statement was made when I was going against the majority – a self defense mechanism to try and rationalize my beliefs to myself, especially when I felt like no one was listening to me.

What was I thinking?

Such statements are close minded and not lessons I would want to teach my sons.

While you never want others to DEFINE you, consider HEARING what others have to say. Their insights may bring you perspectives you hadn’t realized about yourself.

By listening, you may realize the identity you are projecting to others is not always congruent with how you perceive yourself. In doing so, you may find that your energy, tone, body language, or the words you use result in limiting others from hearing you and connecting with you.

By listening to what others share, you are able to catch yourself in the future and make simple adjustments to your approach that enable others to hear you in a more effective manner.

Listening means to hear fully and consider. Some people will be helpful and some will not. You may have to look deep into who you are to see whether that person’s input is helpful or not.